The following reflection on 2023 is from our Relationship Manager, Josie Moon
It feels as if the season of ‘peace on earth and goodwill to all’ has raced in and is suddenly upon us. Perhaps that is something to do with getting older, or having had a fast-paced and exciting year.
At the end of 2022, EMU was facing a somewhat stark year ahead, with uncertainty about funding and being able to retain the talented staff who were working at full tilt to keep the project going. The decision was that if funding support didn’t arrive in 2023 then there would be no choice other than to scale back.
As 2023 has progressed, the ship has become more secure, with funds and support arriving from different places to guarantee projects, salaries and a level of stability that is welcome after a long period of uncertainty.
Of course, nothing is ever certain for long. Our lives are characterised by constant flux and change. It is a dangerous myth to ever think that anything is truly ‘sorted’. But for now we can allow ourselves a breathing space to think, plan and make the best use of the good support and resources we have secured.
That leads me on to thinking about the character of this particular time of year, the season of darkness and cold when nature sleeps and many of us struggle to have much energy or enthusiasm for anything beyond being cosy at home. Let me tell you a secret; that desire for snuggling at home is a perfectly normal and natural response to the winter. We are, after all, animals, part of the natural world and our deep, primal instincts are centuries old. Now is the time to withdraw to the furthest, safest and snuggest corner of the cave. Now is the time to rest, dream and let the year go into the past while the promise of the New Year gradually dawns.
At EMU, we are celebrating our Mid-Winter, the Solstice, that time of shortest day and longest night, with songs and company as the afternoon light drops into darkness on Friday 22nd December. We will share some food and warm drinks, wish each other well and head into our own festivities, however we celebrate them. Our team will take a well-earned rest over the festive days, hopefully being cosy and content, dreaming well and dozing in the darkness while Christmas lights twinkle and keep that sense of hope and joy alive.
We know this season can be very tough. We are acutely aware of the challenges faced by those who don’t have the means to celebrate, for those without a cosy home and we hold our righteous anger and compassion in our hearts for those people, and a determination that we will continue to work for a fairer, kinder and more hopeful community for everyone to enjoy. By taking some time to restore ourselves, to rest and be quiet, we know we will return in the New Year with the right energy to pick up the work and continue.
Whatever your plans, circumstances and hopes are at this time of year, the EMU team wish you peace, rest and comfort. We thank everyone who has walked the path of this year alongside us and we look forward to continuing our journey in 2024.
With love and light.
Let there be rest. Let there be peace.
Let bloodshed, war and violence cease.
Let us seek with all courage that which is right,
When darkness falls, let us search for light.
From A Requiem, Josie Moon 2019
